Mira Costa unveils its new $39-million athletics complex

Athletic director Glenn Marx of Mira Costa is getting his own key to the school’s $39-million athletics complex on Monday. It will be like getting a key to a bank vault loaded with valuables.

Marx went to his principal’s house on Friday to pick up keys to provide a 45-minute tour of the new facilities.

The new gym, which can seat 2,500, will draw oohs and ahs . It’s believed to be the largest in Los Angeles County and could enable Mira Costa to host Southern Section championships in basketball, volleyball and wrestling as well as major camps and showcases. College coaches will be calling Marx begging him to create tournaments, because they’ll enjoy hanging out in Manhattan Beach.

But there’s more to the complex. There are two new weight-training areas, upstairs and downstairs. The larger first-floor area has a sizable glass door that opens up like a garage door, allowing in fresh air and enabling outside workouts to take place next to an all-weather field. There’s a wrestling room, individual classrooms, PE offices, coaches offices, two areas for athletic trainers (seven whirlpools, two washers and two dryers).

There’s a Hall of Fame with 14 honorees — seven men, seven women — that you can admire as you walk down a long hallway. There’s a second gym called the pavilion. Everything is smartly tied in to outside fields with team rooms, locker rooms and lots of televisions. There’s great lighting and views that will relax anyone looking out a window.

The community passed a $39-million bond measure in 2016 to pay for the complex. It was designed by Gensler, an architecture and design firm.

“They got their money’s worth,” Marx said. “We feel the value of this complex is its utility.”

There figures to be adult leagues, club volleyball and youth leagues using the facility.

Mira Costa’s $39-million athletics complex has been completed, highlighted by a new gym.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Now, if only students at Mira Costa had the chance to use the facility. Campus is closed for distance learning during the pandemic. Gyms are not allowed to be used under the state’s current health and safety guidelines.

Marx, though, makes it clear, “This is for everybody.”